Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Position Lessened by Independence Bank of Kentucky

Independence Bank of Kentucky decreased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,593 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 598 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.7% of Independence Bank of Kentucky’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $655,000. Waverly Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 55.2% during the third quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 4,985 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $2,116,000. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $670,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 101.7% in the 3rd quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 2,088 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.75, for a total value of $238,507.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,166,093.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.75, for a total transaction of $238,507.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,166,093.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total transaction of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 630,293 shares in the company, valued at $300,466,976.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 233,512 shares of company stock worth $113,597,536. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on META shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Wedbush dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.05.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.0 %

NASDAQ META traded down $15.34 on Friday, hitting $504.22. 15,855,137 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,400,792. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.38 and a twelve month high of $531.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $480.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $453.93.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.